Author's note: I'm going by April's CGI movie job, in case you were wondering. I like it better than news reporter.

"And always remember, ladies. Keep your cool and don't panic." Alex called out to her students as they filed out after class. It was the one command she always repeated at the end of every session. She wanted it to stick in their minds.

After all, learning all the techniques of self-defense didn't matter if you weren't calm and thinking straight enough to use them.

One student, however, didn't leave right away and approached her. Her name was April O'Neil.

"Miss, O'Malley?" April called out, smiling a bit.

"Yes, April? How can I help you?"

"I was wondering," The light brown-haired Antique enthusiast and collector asked, "if you still had that Egyptian cat statue you told me about."

Alex smiled and nodded. She and April had discussed it the previous class and April had been looking into buying it for a Museum in the city.

"Yes, I do."

This made April smile. "Excellent! I'm glad to hear it. Can they still buy it?"

Again, Alex nodded. "Of course, the offer is still open." Of course, April didn't that she'd gotten the artifact from her father, who'd actually been to Egypt those thousands of years ago when the Pharaohs were the ultimate rulers.

"Thanks!" April smiled warmly. "See you next class." And with that, she gave Alex a friendly wave, grabbed her coat, and departed.

That of course had fallen into her hands purely by luck as she'd left it behind all those years ago. Who knew that some souvenir vendor would have it in their shop by a museum? And for 25 dollars no less! Apparently he didn't know what a real artifact looked like.

Anyhow, she'd bought it and had kept it without the vendor being any wiser. Ha! And he thought he'd been overcharging her.

Right…25 dollars was a lot of money for a priceless thousand year-old authentic Egyptian feline statue.

That thought made Alex grin as she herself grabbed her coat and headed out into the warm New York afternoon.

It was also important to Alex to have her classes during the day. At night she feared that they may have to use the skills they'd only just learned. After all, some of them lived in the not-so-good neighborhoods. That was the reason they took her class in the first place.

April, however, lived downtown in an area that was considered safe. It was heavily populated and police patrolled through it regularly.

Still, one couldn't be too careful, Alex reasoned. Crime of any nature wasn't limited to the poor or those who lived in shadier neighborhoods. It was better safe than sorry in her mind.

Since the sun was still pleasantly warm on her face, she decided to take a bit of a detour and have a walk through Central Park. This was one area that Alex had immediately fallen in love with upon moving to the bustling metropolis.

It muffled the noises of the cars and their horns so one could actually hear the birds in the trees.

It was nice, very nice…until her senses went on red alert…

"Hey guys!" April called cheerfully as she entered the lair.

"Hey, April!" Don answered, poking his head out from his lab. A chorus of hellos came from the remaining three brothers a short time later.

"She's letting me have the statue." She told Don proudly as she removed her jacket and hung it up where the boys hung their trench coats and fedoras.

"That's great!"

Mikey grinned. "So, is your teacher cute?"

April chuckled at Mikey and handed him a pamphlet, the very one that had led her there a couple of weeks earlier.

"See for yourself."

Eagerly, he flipped it open. "Wow! She is a babe!"

Raphael rolled his eyes at his younger brother and then snatched the pamphlet from him before nobody ever saw it again. Knowing Mikey, he'd made sure it was good and lost.

He blinked at the photo. "Hey, Mikey…this was the girl we saw when we were patrolin'! Da' one wit' the big freakin' cat."

Mikey pondered that for a moment and then smiled. "You're right, Raph. Talk about a small world!"

April raised a brow. "Big cat?"

"Yeah, it was huge! It was a panther or somethin'. It was black."

"Wow…must be an enthusiast for exotic wildlife or something." April commented.

Leonardo and Donatello joined the trio a short time later. April told them about the conversation they just had.

Raph turned the pamphlet's cover around so they could see it. They nodded in unison.

"That's her." Don confirmed.

Mikey nudged April playfully. "Say, could you tell her you have a charming and handsome friend she could go out with?" he waggled his eye ridges for added effect.

April chuckled at Mikey and playfully poked him back. "I'm sure she's very into turtles, Mikey." She said this with much affection in her voice.

His brothers chuckled merrily at her words.

Mikey just stuck his tongue at them all before putting his attention to better things: his video game!

It was only a second later that Alex felt the hot breath on her neck.

"At long last…" said a silky, male voice. Alex growled, knowing exactly who this was…

Diablo…

He was the leader of a group of Vampyres from her world. It was them that were responsible for the destruction of her home those hundreds of years ago. He'd managed to rally the Black Helldragon's support aswell. And then…Chaos.

Diablo had caused trouble for her homeland as long as she could remember. He'd even fixated on her…she'd become his obsession. Each attack, each scheme of his was designed to draw her attention to him. He loved tormenting her…a lot.

"Ah, no need for hostility, my love."

Alex tried not to heave at the "my love" part. She hated it when he called her that. It made her feel violated somehow.

He drew her against him and purred in her ear. Alex made a face as she felt certain part of his anatomy announcing it was definitely happy to see her.

Gods, this was far too many kinds of gross…

"Go feel someone else up, you damn pervert." Alex growled and grabbed his arms. Using all of her strength, she flipped him violently over her head causing him to land on the ground, hard.

He flipped upwards to land on his feet, but not without some effort. Alex was never easy on anyone she fought with…especially not him.

Alex glared at him as he stood before her. Diablo towered over the Queen at a healthy 6'9" inches. Still, he didn't frighten her, he only pissed her off.

He was also not of the human variety. Instead, he was what her world called a Hellturtle.

These creatures had a mixture of human and turtle attributes. They stood on two legs, as humans did, and had ten fingers and ten toes like humans. They were capable of human speech, and had human intelligence. So in essence, Hellturtles were humanoid turtles.

Normally, they were a kind and peaceful species. However, Diablo had had a run-in with a Vampyre which had turned him. So here he was…

"My people will come." He said, grinning now. "They'll kill everyone here… but you, you're for me…"

Oh, great…

Alex ignored him, waiting, watching, to see what he would do.

Vampyres possessed great speed and grace, but so did her kind. So when his fist flew out to strike her, she bent backward, avoiding it before straightening up again.

This pissed him off. Alex grinned. That pissed him off more.

And with that, the two warriors fought. As they did, she could tell he was dismayed that she was stronger now, that she had over 500 years of combat training under her belt.

"Ah, you have ripened, my little strawberry…" he purred as he tried to kick her, which she blocked, and punched him in the beak.

As if sensing the darkening mood, clouds gathered as they fought. Rain, pouring rain, soon followed.

They weren't alone very long. Soon a few of his minions surrounded her. Alex mentally counted them. There were six.

Luckily, she had a silver knife with her. It wasn't a stake, but it would do…

Silver, after all, killed these monsters. One stab to the heart…

And with that, she launched into battle with the snarling Vampyres. The first, a human male, was young and freshly turned. He didn't have the experience she did. With a well-timed throw, she got him right in the heart and then quickly retrieved her knife.

The next two came at her from both sides. She kicked one, causing him to land a few feet away from her. The second grabbed her, wrapping an arm around her throat. Alex gagged for a moment, trying to get her air.

Then she flipped him over her as she'd done with Diablo earlier. He came at her again and Alex punched him and then stabbed, watching his dust fall.

The one she'd kicked got up and tried to rush her. Alex managed to stab him, too.

That left 3 more.

One reached out with his claws and tore at her arm. Alex hissed at the sting of it, before giving him a kick to the chest. Luckily, it sent him backwards, impaling him on the nearby fence. It wasn't silver, but it definitely held him in place so Alex could ensure he was dust too.

The next one was more experienced. The battle with him was a fury of punches, kicks, tumbles, slamming into various trees and large rocks from both combatants.

Eventually, Alex managed to swing her leg out, knocking him to the ground. Not wasting time, she dusted him too.

The last one, however, had the wherewithal to run. Growling, Alex tore after him. No way would she let him have a victim.

Alex chased him right to the sewers and into them. The smell assaulted her nostrils, making her blink but she kept on. She couldn't afford to hesitate. Vampyres could run damned fast and if she wasn't careful, she could lose him easily.

And so, she kept her eyes pinned on the 6 foot 2, dark-haired man dressed in street clothes. Though with their condition she was sure even street people wouldn't wear them.

Thankfully, this Vampyre smelled rather ripe to put it mildly. So, he wasn't difficult for Alex to follow.

Every tunnel seemed to get darker and darker. Soon, it was pitch black. Again, being a feline, Alex had no trouble seeing in the blackness. Unfortunately, the Vampyre didn't have any trouble either…

And so, the chase continued. Alex hopped over pipes, debris, and other things she didn't really want to identify as she raced to keep up with him.

Eventually, they hit what appeared to be a dead-end in the tunnel. Alex wasted no time and attacked.

The fight was grueling. This guy was stronger than the others and had a desperate will to survive. He cursed at her in her home's native tongue as he scratched, kicked, bit, and fought her much like the animal he was.

Alex only growled back at him, returning the punishment he was giving her.

Eventually, she got the upper hand when he slipped on something, falling backward. Alex took that chance to drive her silver dagger into his heart. He vanished into dust, causing her to drop a bit into the water.

"So many levels of gross…" Alex muttered as she stood, glaring at her clothes, which were for sure ruined now.

But more importantly, she'd beaten his minions. With a sigh, Alex began to trudge back the way she came, hoping she'd find a way out of this stinky maze of tunnels.

It didn't take long before she realized she was hopelessly lost. There was nothing distinguishable about any of the tunnels. They had not traits that set them apart from others that would help her figure out just where she was.

Alex swore softly and kept going. Surely there was a manhole around here somewhere!

That's when she heard the strangest noise. It sounded like…music?

This made her blink. Did that mean she was a near a manhole finally? Encouraged, Alex looked around for the tell-tale ladder and streams of light that would appear through the lid.

She didn't find any light, but the music did get a bit louder. Alex couldn't help but smile a bit. It was video game music.

Now that was something one didn't hear down here…

That's when she heard a creak under her feet and the ground give way…